Two Dandelions
by goldenpixie1
Summary: Willow wakes up from a nightmare, and with Peeta fast asleep, it's up to Katniss to tell a good story. When she does, it brings up the fear of a little secret she's been keeping to herself.


**Summary:** Willow wakes up from a nightmare, and with Peeta fast asleep, it's up to Katniss to tell a good story. When she does, it brings up the fear of a little secret she's been keeping to herself. This is a short story I wrote for PiP, and the prompt was cheeks.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Hunger Games Trilogy. The Hunger Games Trilogy is the property of Suzanne Collins, and are not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.

"Mommy," a little voice whispers in her dreams.

Katniss slowly opens her eyes and looks around the bedroom. It must be full moon makes the orange walls look white, and a cool breeze blows in through the open window.

Maybe I was just dreaming, she thinks, and rolls over.

Something tugs on the sheets and her head snaps up; a wild head of dark hair and two wide blue eyes stare at her over the mattress. She jumps, making the whole bed shake. Peeta just coughs, and rolls over, somehow not woken up from his deep slumber.

"Willow!" she gasps, clutching her chest, feeling her heart race. "What are you doing?"

The little girl grabs on to the sheets again, her short little legs waving widely around as she struggles to hoist herself up. Katniss sighs and helps her.

"You have to go back to bed," she says, but her stern tone doesn't do any good as Willow climbs on to her lap.

"Monsters," Willow whimpers.

All it takes is that one word and any aggravation at being woken up in the middle of the night disappears. She wraps her arms around her daughter and holds her tight like a cocoon, protecting her from the night terrors she's all too familiar with herself. She gently rocks Willow side to side, her cheek pressed against her chubby one, sticky with dried up tears. They listen to the crickets chirping outside and Daddy's soft snores; her small hand reaches up and cups her face.

"Can you tell me a story, mommy?"

Katniss glances over at Peeta, wishing he was awake. She was never good at story telling. Peeta though, he could make up a tale on the spot.

"I'm not good at telling stories, honey."

"Please, mommy?"

"No, Willow. It's time for bed, you have school in the morning."

"Tell me just one and I'll sleep, I promise" Willow pleads, looking up at her with the same eyes as her father, and the same little raise of the eyebrows in a hopeful expression. She must have picked it up from him, because he's used it on Katniss many times. It's worked in his favor, and as Katniss slumps her shoulders in defeat, it works for Willow too.

"Oh, alright," she sighs. "What kind of story?"

"My favorite one."

"And which one is that?"

"When you and Daddy met."

Katniss bites her lip.

She wasn't prepared for this. The story is written down in a leather notebook, collecting dust in the attic. Every boy and girl has probably heard several different versions about the past, all probably from the Capitol. No parent from the Districts would want to bring up the horrors that takes miracles to forget. And how can you possibly tell it to the most precious miracle of it all, sitting right in your lap, waiting.

No, it's too soon, a voice inside Katniss' head wails.

"I'm sorry, honey. You're too young-"

Willow crosses her arms, her face now perfectly imitating her mother's scowl. "But Daddy tells me it all the time!"

Katniss glares over at Peeta, who has mysteriously stopped snoring.

"Is that so?"

"Yes! Mommy was a fire princess and Daddy was a stud muffin-"

"A what?"

"A stud muffin!" Willow exclaims, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Daddy bakes her cakes but she doesn't like cakes- she likes toads-"

"Toads?"

Willow huffs, getting aggravated from being disrupted. "Yes! The toad tries to take Mommy from Daddy, but at the end you like Daddy the mostest."

"Ah, I see," Katniss laughs, looking over at Peeta. His face is turned away, but his cheek raises to what could only be a smile. "How about Mommy tells you her favorite story instead."

Willow shakes her head, arms still crossed, as stubborn as the woman who gave her life.

"Well, I guess I can just save it until you're older"

Her eyes grow wide and she sits upright, completely alert.

"That's what I thought," Katniss smirks, clearing her throat. "Now, let's see…"

_Once upon a time,_

_There lived a girl. She was not a princess, very far from one in fact. Her clothes were rags, her empty belly was always growling. Things were not always bad, you see. She was happy as a child, but when she lost her father, her mother grew very sad, leaving the girl to care for her baby sister alone. As she got older, times got harder. Sometimes she felt like her heart had turned to stone._

_Over a hill, in a prettier part of the town, there lived a boy. He was strong and kind to everyone. He radiated warmth from his smile to his gentle hands, but anger surrounded him, hurt him. While the girl was lucky to have some people to trust, the boy had no one, and he still smiled at every living thing he met._

_One day, it rained so hard that it dripped from the roof and made big puddles in the girl's house. Her baby sister kept crying, she was so hungry. They were all so hungry- only the empty cabinets stayed dry. The girl had no choice, she had to go on an adventure and find something to eat. With no umbrella, no rain boots- just a jacket made of leather-_

"Hey!" Willow says, shaking Katniss' arm. "You have a leather jacket too!"

"Yes, I do."

Katniss waits for her to say more, but she lays her head back down on her chest and continues to play with the hem of her nightgown. She smiles down at her daughter, then goes on….

_With just a leather jacket to keep her warm from the rain, the girl ventures over the hill to the pretty side of town with her baby sisters clothes. She hopes people will buy them, even if they have holes in them. Sadly, no one does. She has nothing to bring home to her family, so she starts looking through smelly trash cans. One of the trash cans belongs to the kind boy. His mother, who shouts at everyone she meets, starts yelling mean things at the girl, telling her to get out of her trash. Turning to run away, the girl finds herself too weak, and lands in the mud. Now she is tired, freezing, starving, and very dirty._

_The boy sees the girl out in the rain, shaking like a leaf under his tree. He starts to feel sorry for her, and burns two loaves of bread on purpose. The mother is not happy he did that. Not happy at all. She punishes him very badly, scaring the girl. When the mother isn't looking, the boy tossed her the bread. She grabs the warm loaves, running home as fast as her weak legs can carry her._

_The next day, the rain is gone, and everything is warm and bright. Dandelions spring up from the ground, as yellow as the sun. I wish I could tell you things got better, but they didn't. No, things got very much worse after that, but through it all, the girl had the boy. The boy with the bread, who reminded her of dandelions and warmth and everything happy in the world. Finally, after a long time, things aren't so bad anymore. Instead of one dandelion, there comes two. Two little dandelions, tucked safely in the meadow, under the willow, a place where…._

Katniss stops as Willow's eyes grow heavy, her body relaxing as she drifts off to sleep.

"You forgot to say 'The End'."

She looks over at Peeta, not surprised to see him wide awake, looking up at her with a grin.

"It doesn't have an end," she says, her cheeks blushing.

He leans up, taking Willow from her arms. "Here, I'll take her back to bed."

Katniss snuggles under the covers, watching a shirtless Peeta carry his daughter in his strong arms, his back muscles flexing. The wooden floorboards creek under his feet when he walks down the hall. She stares up at the ceiling, hoping he goes to the bathroom or gets a glass of water. Just a few minutes alone is all she needs. But he comes back, climbing under the covers and wrapping his arms around her.

"She's out like a light," Peeta whispers, his breathe tickling her ear.

"My story bored her."

He chuckles, kissing her lightly on the forehead. "When she's older, she will understand more."

He doesn't ask her what's wrong as she stares in to space, not saying a word. His soft fingers trace patterns on her bare skin, leaving goosebumps on her arm.

"What if thing get worse again," she says suddenly, turning her head to look straight at him. "You know? "

"What are you talking about?"

Katniss covers her face with her hands, her stomach tying itself in to knots. She tries to think of ways to explain it better for him, but words just race in her mind, jumbled and not making any sense. Maybe telling that story wasn't such a good idea.

Peeta inhales sharply, like he's just realized something. "Wait, when you said two…"

She tenses, hands still covering her face.

"Katniss, real or not real-"

"No, Peeta!"

He shushes her, arms wrapping around her tighter, calming her down as tears sting her eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up like that."

"I'm just scared," she mutters, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

They both lay together, every inch of their body touching, except for the bottoms of their feet. "Scared of what?" he asks.

Katniss swallows, and presses her forehead to his. He kisses her softly on the lips, making her forget he even asked a question, until he breaks apart, his lips hovering over hers expectantly. She doesn't want to say it, not sure if it's the perfect moment.

"Everything will be okay," Peeta smiles, speaking before she does. "You have the both of us, forever. Your two dandelions."

He leans down to give her another kiss, but she holds her finger against his lips, making him halt.

"Now ask me."

He smiles wide, excitement making his blue eyes twinkle. "Are you pregnant? Real or not real."

"Real," Katniss smiles back, his warm reaction melting away any fear she had before, then adds with a wink, "Stud muffin."


End file.
